On Clipped Wings
by Kitchel
Summary: ChoDraco, eventually. Cho is now an Auror at the age of 22. Like all people, just starting out, she just wants to be successful. Draco has money and power... until one fateful day. How will one struggling 'fresh out of graduate school' Cho help Draco?
1. Introduction

**Chapter One- The Introduction**

She had been in tears, when it ended, nearly four years ago. She sat in the Hogwarts Express with the train heading the wrong way- towards the Muggle world and away from her home, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was one of the saddest days of her life, surrounded by her closest Ravenclaw friends, all laughing, and reminiscing, and crying along with her. Overcome with emotion, she wandered up and down the hallway of the train, peering in to each separate compartment to watch over her fellow Hogwarts alumni and students who would be returning come next fall. She sat in a forlorn state, depressed beyond all means, when the train finally came to a halt.

She tried to cheer herself up. "Harry bought me that beautiful owl," she told herself, referring to a beautiful brown and white spotted owl he had bought for her for Christmas. They had been dating, then. Her chocolate eyes welled up with tears at the thought that she would not see Harry on a daily basis again. "Oh, we've broken up," she tried to scold herself for her pathetic behavior.

She gave another stab at brightening her mood. "You-Know-Who has fallen from power," she gave herself a watery grin, but she knew that this wouldn't cheer her mood. Harry had toiled forever and had finally found Lord Voldemort and destroyed him. '_Hopefully,_' she added as a side note in her mind.

And soon they were getting off of the train, exiting through Platform Nine-and-three-quarters. She clung for as long as she could on to her best friends, the ones she might have never seen again, before giving a somewhat cheerful wave in Harry's direction. Her mother gave her an impatient look, and she walked towards her, lower lip trembling dangerously. She sobbed during the entire car ride home.

Now look at the girl.

Cho Chang was an Auror; her ex-boyfriend's contagious interest in the career had gotten to her. Aurors were usually stand-alone agents, preferring to work by themselves on missions than work side-by-side. She never really came in contact with any other Aurors, and if she did, she didn't know their true profession. It wasn't exactly the best thing to go about and tell people that you were an Auror and went around catching dark wizards and witches when the person you were talking to might betray you at one point. Cho usually lied and told others that she was a lesser-known dressmaker. (She did indeed, at times, make her own dresses when she knew that her envisioned dress was very specific and only she could bring it to life.)

She lived alone in a London apartment only two blocks down from the Leaky Cauldron Pub, right within running distance of the Wizarding world. Cho had always lived in between the worlds, somewhat, with her father being a wizard and her mother being a Muggle. She had two bank accounts in her name- number 694 at Gringotts and another one at HSBC UK where she kept her Muggle money. This she could attain through converting several Galleons to pounds at Gringotts (which was a long and terribly boring service) or through having several "odds-and-ends" jobs around London.

Cho wasn't frightened or confused by Muggle affairs, being half-blooded. Nor was she confused by Wizarding affairs. She always had considered herself a witch first and foremost, however. An Animagus was her second identity, and she was able to transform in to a rat at will. Now, with the ability to turn in to a rat, she might sound a bit sneaky or dishonest. This wasn't true at all. She actually found her Animagus ability quite useful as an Auror, able to sneak about and do all sorts of clever things rats can do that many other animals couldn't.

Currently, our heroine was in her Animagus form, as a rat. She was scuttling along some pipe in a London sewer, feeling incredibly disgusted with herself along with afraid for her life. She was fleeing some mission-gone-wrong, only the second time it had happened to her. A certain witch had found out the 'pleasures' of the Cruciatus Curse, and had gone a little cuckoo in the London Underground. Cho had some issues handling it, with all the people about, but thought that she had gotten it under control. Thinking it a fine idea to just creep underground the way home as a rat, she had Animagusized herself out, scuttling along the pipes along the wall. Now thoroughly regretting her once-brilliant idea, she was relieved when she finally made it in to her apartment building, transforming in the dumpster area. Her clothes were grimy and disgusting (not to mention her hair!) and Cho just wanted to take a shower.

Smiling weakly at the befuddled doorman (she always looked well-dressed!); Cho ascended three flights of stairs up to her door and unlocked it with an "_alohomora_." Feeling too disgusting to do anything else, she bee-lined to a marble bathroom. Her apartment wasn't huge, but it fit her interests nicely. It was the perfect size for two or three people, in her opinion, although she lived in it alone. She showered quickly, heaving a sigh of relief when she finally scrubbed some shampoo in to her atrocious hair.

Thirty minutes later, everything was as Cho wished it to be. Her disgusting clothes were in her washer, a kettle was on the stove, she was curled up on a plush sofa reading the Daily Prophet, Gavyn, her owl, perched on the armrest beside her. A distinct whistling came from the kitchen, and she got up to fetch the tea off the stove. She poured herself a cup, generously helping herself to some honey, and imbibed the tea. She was an English girl at heart, she decided, as she rummaged around in a drawer for some biscuits.

Tossing a biscuit to Gavyn (who caught it midair); Cho sat once more on her sofa, flipping through the pages of the newspaper. She sighed drowsily, deciding to head off for bed. Dumping her mug in to the kitchen sink, she quickly brushed her teeth before settling down beneath her fluffed covers. Her last couple of thoughts before finally drifting to bed was that she should write a letter to Marietta.


	2. Letters

**Chapter Two- Letters**

_Dear Marietta,_

_Hello, my darling, how are you? I hope you are well. I'm doing quite fine myself, continuing on with my mundane days as a seamstress, yes. London is absolutely fabulous, thank you for asking. I know you tend to get confused when I start to talk about the Muggle world, so I won't say anything._

_How is Kaitlyn? _( It was here where Cho had to flip through her address book to find her old friend's daughter's name. She had purposely written down the name and birthdays of all her friends children for the purpose of seeming to be thoughtful and as forgetful as she really was. ) _She's getting to be quite a big girl now, nearly four months old! You should have a half-a-year-old party for the dear. On that similar note, how's your husband?_ ( Cho chose to leave out the name seeing as she hadn't written that down and didn't want to make an embarrassing mistake… ) _I hope you and your family are all well._

_Have you heard from any of the old crowd, lately? Nobody wants to risk sending poor Cho a letter by owl, seeing as I live in a Muggle home. The owls don't attract too much attention by night, I should think. If anything is afoot, please don't hesitate to tell._

_Well, Marie, I've got to go, now. A difficult pink taffeta dress awaits my skillful fingers (and brilliant wand-maneuvering) for a grand old woman's sixty-third birthday party. I've got to get the food on the 'stove' somehow. (The stove is the Muggle device used for preparing food, in case you've forgotten, dear.)_

_Cheers,_

_Cho ♥_

Cho rolled up the parchment after letting the ink dry a moment, and tied it with a sheer pink ribbon. She handed it to Gavyn, who hooted loyally, earning a smile from Cho. "Oh, shove off," she grinned and Gavyn soared out the window, set in the wizarding world's direction. Just as her owl departed, a great horned owl fluttered in through her open French door.

"Ah, the Daily Prophet," Cho remarked, depositing five Knuts in to the owl's out held pouch. "Thanks very much!" She called out her window after the owl. Sighing, Cho unrolled the paper to throw it on her sofa in boredom.

"It's always those fluff articles on what ex-Death Eaters are doing nowadays," Cho muttered, "just leave the poor blokes alone, eh?" Cho had always been a rather sympathetic person, and although the Death Eaters had done such horrible things, she now, in a way, felt for the poor people who were being harassed by Daily Prophet reporters for their stories. She clucked her tongue and shook her head like an old housewife.

"I have _got_ to do something with myself," Cho groaned, feeling incredibly bored. She flopped on to the arm of her sofa, bending backwards so her head was pressed against where she would normally sit. A few moments later, Cho walked over to her room and dressed. It would be much more interesting outside in the city than inside her stuffy apartment.

It was much nicer outside, Cho decided. The rare sunny day in London brightened her mood, and she felt much more cheerful outside on the sidewalks than inside on her hardwood floor. She stopped by several cute stores, making difficult decisions about her money on several unnecessary articles. She ended up caving in on a few, assuring herself that she needed to treat herself after her awful day yesterday.

"One small strawberry scoop in a cone, please," Cho ordered, pulling out her pouch of money. Several Sickles fell in to her hands, and the ice cream vendor gave her a weird look. "Oh, these are from my, er, home land," Cho coughed, using her Asian appearance as a cover-up for her wizarding currency. The man nodded gravely, as if he understood. Cho hastily shoved the coins back in to her pouch and handed the man some British coins. He squinted at them, as if to ensure that he was getting all-British currency. Cho offered a weak grin before walking away, ice cream in hand.

'_Nice going, Cho,_' She inwardly muttered. Rolling her eyes at her own moment of stupidity, she managed to trip over her heel while her eyes were still pointed in the sky's direction. Stumbling forward, she dropped her two bags, the handle of the bag slung over her right arm managing to drag her newly-bought ice cream with it.

Cho blankly stared at her fallen ice cream. The single scoop of strawberry was slightly covered in gravel on the left side, and it was beginning to form a small stream of melted ice cream flowing away from her and off the curb. The cone, slightly broken on the left side rolled back and forth next to the scoop, still in motion from its drop. "This is what happens to me when I actually go outside," she muttered, rubbing her temples with her first two fingers of each hand (not including the thumbs, of course).

Sighing, she reached down and dejectedly picked up her bags. Shaking her head, she shuffled back to her apartment, dumped her bags by her door, and sank down in to her chair. A rustles of feathers, and Gavyn came soaring in to the room. One half of Cho was delighted to be in somebody's (even her own owl's) company again, the other half was wary for her identity's secrecy.

"Gavyn! I told you not to be seen in broad daylight," Cho hissed. The owl fluffed up proudly and nipped at Cho affectionately. She rolled her eyes again. "You, darling, think with your stomach rather than your head," she sighed. She untied the letter from his outstretched leg, patting him affectionately before going back to her pity-party.

But moments later, the distinct rustling of another owl's feathers got louder as the creator of the noise approached her. Groaning, Cho willed her arms to prop her up as she untied the letter from the owl's leg.

"Can't a girl have a decent feel-sorry-for-my-sorry-self session without any owls bothering her?" She complained. She earned herself a blood-drawing peck on the finger from the owl, and Cho held back a string of curses.

"F-- fudging owl," Cho muttered, changing the word she was about to use. "Off with you!" She shooed the owl off her couch. It gave her a distinctly haughty look as it beat its wings and flew out her window. Cho rolled her eyes for the third time that day, and unrolled the bit of parchment.

She looked at the two bits of parchment she had just received, and shook her head. "Letters! What a day," she moaned. She unrolled the letter still in her hand, and read it as she sucked on her still-bleeding finger.

_Dear Miss Chang:_

_A matter of utmost importance has just come to our attention. It is your duty to report to us immediately and receive your assignment._

_Formally,_

_Terrence Windsor  
Head of Auror Commissions_

Cho gave the parchment a blank look and sighed, shaking her head. She ripped the parchment in to bits, guiltily taking pleasure in the rather destructive feeling it gave her. She tossed the destroyed parchment in to her paper wastebasket on her way to her room. She unlocked her 'witch's wardrobe,' as she liked to call it. In her wardrobe, there were robes and all manner of clothes necessary for the wizarding world. In her dresser, Cho stowed her everyday clothes.

Hiding the key back under her mattress after locking the wardrobe up again, she retrieved her wand from her purse and stowed it in to the folds of her robe. Of course, being a wooden stick of ten inches long, the pocket in her robes were especially made for such a purpose.

Sighing, Cho opened the back door to her apartment and slipped out, descending the dark and crooked stairs from her third floor flat. She opened the door to a dark alleyway, a fireplace crackling at one end. This was Cho's ticket to the wizarding world. She withdrew a pouch from the inside of her robe and pulled a pinch of emerald powder from it. Tossing it in to the flames and watching the flames turn a flickering green, she stepped in to the fire and said "Auror Headquarters!" before disappearing.

**Kitch says:** Sorry for taking so long to get this up. Writer's block is the pits. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Flight

Disclaimer: I guess I should be putting this in the beginning, huh? Sadly, I don't own any of the places, magical objects, or characters in my story. They begin to the fabulously lucky J.K Rowling. I own the plot, though, and that's all I've got. Oh, and the titles of the chapters and the story. Those I own, too.

**Chapter 3- Flight**

"You're getting **remarried?**" An incredulous shout echoed through the halls of the Malfoy Manor.

It had been two years since Lucius Malfoy had been let out of Azkaban. Four long years ago, the Dark Lord's reign had ended due to a certain pesky Harry Potter. Many Death Eaters, or at least those who had been within the 'Inner Circle' of Voldemort's, were placed in Azkaban for a period between two to five years. The ones who caused the most trouble might never escape, seeing as their jail time was still being argued among the Ministry members. Lucius Malfoy had been on the outer rim of the Inner Circle, so his time was two years, thankfully enough for him. Azkaban was a terrible place, and nobody should wish that residence upon another.

Narcissa had always been soft. She was soft for her son, for her husband's victims, soft and more loving than any Malfoy should be in general. This tenderness had always been kept in check when Lucius was around, and it killed her to cause this much pain to other people, but she did it for her husband. When he was taken to Azkaban, this softness and love was able to bloom and she became, well, an average person. It didn't seem like an average person's life to her, however, because she was able to appreciate so many things. To her, it was the life she had always desired.

Upon Lucius' return back to the normal Wizarding world, he expected to meet the same dark and snobby wife, and the same spoiled life he had always led. This new, **caring** wife of his was completely unexpected. Never one to deal with things he didn't feel like handling, he divorced Narcissa on the spot. Sadly, she took only what she came in to the marriage with, which was several pieces of furniture, some old dresses and robes, her wand, and about a fifth of the Malfoy fortune. Lucius was rather upset over the loss of the last, but he paid no heed.

He had met a new, wealthy widow- her husband, a former Death Eater, had died at the hands of none other than the despicable Ronald Weasley leaving this mildly-attractive woman all their small fortune. Lucius immediately took to courting her, and within a couple of months, they were engaged. He took his time, nearly a week, telling his son Draco about this marriage.

"Yes," Lucius drawled back, rather annoyed at Draco's response, "and she has two sons and a daughter." Draco stared back incredulously, wondering if he was dreaming all of this.

"I'll have… siblings?" He murmured almost incoherently in his musings. He had always heard about those despicable things- you always had to squabble and bicker with them, and worst of all, you had to share. Not to mention 'siblings' was a Weasley thing, and he simply couldn't have anything in common with those poor excuses for purebloods. This news had hit him like a rock to the gut. It was completely out of the blue, and shell-shocking.

"Well, technically, yes," Lucius smirked. He had been planning this conversation with his son for little over a day, and his son was reacting just as he had thought he would.

"What do you mean 'technically'?" Draco eyed him dubiously, knowing that there was definitely a catch. He knew his father well, and knew that something was afoot.

"Well, they'll be related to you, but you no longer are written in to my will."

"**What**?" Draco stared at his father, open-mouthed this time. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His father was sick, or he was having a nightmare, or… well, he didn't know, but this was almost certainly anything but reality.

"You see, Draco," oh, how his name grated upon his ears when his father spoke in that falsely sweet voice, "with these three deserving children coming in to my marriage with my new wife, I decided that the Malfoy fortune would not be split in to four when I died. I chose the two most deserving of children to inherit." Draco could only stand and absorb the information. Something was to be wrong with his mouth today, for it could only hang slightly ajar rather than create the understandable syllables known as English.

"Draco, do close your mouth," his father remarked, a rather arrogant tone to his voice.

Rather than closing his mouth, Draco found it within him to open it wider and speak, "Doesn't the first son of your first marriage count as one deserving of half the Malfoy fortune?" Why wasn't he chosen? Damn this new woman, ruining all that he had known of life.

"I did consider you at first," Lucius spoke in an explaining tone, as if he was speaking to a two-year-old, "but I weighed the factors. You, in the time of our fallen Lord, would not become a Death Eater and follow in my footsteps. You have always been somewhat of a pesky child, and you are also half of the genes of that despicably soft woman living God-knows-where." Draco was astounded.

All he had ever known his entire life came crashing down upon him like a badly made house during a hurricane. He had always thought he was set for life, never needing to put his fine education to work and get a job. He had always gotten what he wanted. He had always thought he was a favorite of his father's.

Now, he was being cast aside, as if he had never existed his entire life. He didn't quite know how to respond, except that he knew that his pride was being injured. His dignity was slowly being torn to shreds, and he needed to do something radically different than just standing before his father.

"Well, father," he said in an even tone, completely opposite of how he felt, "I suppose if you obviously favor children you have not known for nearly half your life, this child should just be on his way."

"What are you saying, Draco?" His father had not expected this reaction. He had expected Draco to storm off with his tail between his legs, sulking for days, and feeding off of his money to live in his Manor.

"I'm saying," Draco hissed back at his father, "that I'm leaving this manor, you, and all that I knew about life." Draco stalked darkly out of the room, his mind swirling and his temper flared. Lucius merely smiled. He knew Draco couldn't make it alone- he'd been too dependent all his life. He'd be begging to come back, eventually. He'd be back.

Draco had no idea what he was doing. And it frustrated him. This frustration built upon his core fury at his father built upon his miserable confusion made him an extremely unhappy person at the moment. He was flying on his old Quidditch broom, a small bag hanging at the end. He had no idea what he had packed, save for all the money he could find and his wand. Of course he had packed some clothes, but he hadn't really been paying attention.

The height he was flying at made him numb, but that was better than the heated rage he had been experiencing previously. Where he was flying, he felt nearer to the stars, and as sappy and horridly romantic as it sounded, it slightly comforted him. He had no idea where he was going.

Flying for what felt like hours, he landed in the most remote alley he could find. Something in the back of his mind told him he was behind some building in Diagon Alley, but he paid little attention. Pulling out a cloak his mother had made for him a couple of years ago- here, he thought about how ungrateful he had been for it and felt the slightest twinge of the closest he had ever gotten to guilt- he wrapped it around him, and sunk against the wall of the alley. Slumping down on to his knees, he wished desperately for a Penseive.

Not hearing another approach, he was almost startled to hear a tentative, female voice rather nearby to him say, "Draco?"

**Kitch says:** Sorry for not warning you guys about the family trip to Canada sooner. Tee hee.

My Humble Thanks to- Serena Goodkey, attica, and teresz.


	4. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter because it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Sometimes I lie and say I do own it, but then people give me looks like I'm crazy and I'm forced to admit the truth, which turns out to be that I have nothing to do with owning it. Sadly.

**Chapter Four- Mission**

Cho coughed as she stepped out of the fireplace. The Floo Network was efficient, yes, but not her favorite method of travel. In fact, it wasn't anywhere near her favorite method of travel, which was quite obviously flying by broom. She dusted the soot and Floo powder off her robes before making her way out of the alleyway.

The Auror Headquarters were a different building than the Ministry of Magic, for unknown reasons. They also banned fireplaces from being set up within their building, for the sake of keeping unwanted visitors from the inside of the headquarters of the primary defense against magical dangers.

Cho approached the building, climbing the eight steps they had to the double doors. A goblin stood at the front with a rather disgruntled look upon his face. He looked at Cho, eyes narrowed in a suspicious manner. He was grumpy, as most Gringotts goblins were when they were assigned their day at the AH.

"Name, purpose, and identification," the goblin requested in a bored tone.

"Cho Chang," she replied, and withdrew her letter from Mr. Windsor along with a clear key. The goblin took these in to his clawed hands, inspecting the letter closely, and examining the key. He inserted it in to a keyhole next to the door, and traced his claw in a pattern on the door. The sound of many locks unlocking at the same time could be heard, if Cho put her ear to the door. The goblin gave her key back, and grinned wickedly.

"Good luck," he said sarcastically, and Cho sneered at him.

"Honestly, these goblins are getting more and more ill-mannered every day," she muttered once she entered the headquarters. Taking a left, she had to run briskly up the staircase before it moved to a completely different corridor. Taking another winding hallway to another moving staircase, this procession of hallways and staircases continued for five floors.

Panting lightly, Cho finally reached her destination- the office of the Head of Auror Commissions. Aurors were to report here before and after every mission, and Cho suddenly remembered that she hadn't reported to Mr. Windsor after the last mission. Now getting a little nervous, she desperately hoped he wasn't about to give her a boring job, like her first two had been.

She knocked on the door, her white knuckles contrasting to the dark wood. "Who is it?" said a deep voice from within.

"Er, Cho Chang, sir," she replied, and the sound of papers being re-arranged was heard. A moment later, the door opened and a dark, stern man opened the door. He was bald, not because of age, but for practicality.

"Ah, Miss Chang, so glad you could make it so quickly," he said, a pleasant note to his voice. He motioned towards a straight-backed wooden chair, which many an Auror had sat nervously and uncomfortably in for what seemed like hours. A nervous and uncomfortable Cho sat in this very chair now.

"Um, you wanted to see me, sir?" Cho questioned, her anxiety coming across.

"Yes, Miss Chang, this is regarding the case you just recently 'completed,'" Mr. Windsor said, the note of pleasantry gone. Cho wondered why he had singled out the word 'completed', as if she hadn't really completed the case.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry that I didn't come to report right after," Cho bit her lip, "but I was so tired and dirty I went straight home to take a shower, and I accidentally fell asleep." Truth be told, she had completely forgotten that she needed to report right after her mission.

The large man sitting across her sighed, "Cho, firstly, I have had Aurors come in here with limbs missing to report their completed missions," Cho felt extremely guilty- at the time, her filthiness and exhaustion had seemed like the worst thing in the world, "and secondly, you didn't complete your mission."

"Wha-?" Cho asked, shocked that he had just told her that her mission hadn't been completed. She played the mission back in her mind.

_She had been very excited to find out that she had one of the tougher cases. Miyelda Gunewalde, a rather bizarre but previously homeless witch had tortured her nephew with the Cruciatus curse. Finding delight in giving helpless people pain beyond all recognition, the power had gone to her head and she had started to torture the most helpless human beings- Muggles. In the crowded London Underground, Miyelda had tortured nearly twelve people just for the fun of it before Cho had arrived. _

_Giddy with excitement, Cho had attempted to stun the witch, but her spell had missed and the wall. Angered, Miyelda had turned all her efforts towards torturing Cho, and Cho had spent a good amount of time ducking and dodging the streams of spells aimed towards her. Tiring quickly, she had tackled Miyelda, both women hitting the dirty floor. Both their wands had been knocked away, and the Muggles still in the area did not dare to touch it. They tousled on the ground for a while, before Cho had finally wrenched Miyelda's arms behind her back. _

_Dragging the witch over so that she could grab her wand, she Stunned the witch. A green-cloaked figure that had hidden his face with his hood had arrived at that moment, showing a clear key and declaring himself a part of the Auror Headquarters. He said he would take the witch to Azkaban where she would await her sentence. Tired and not quite thinking straight, Cho trusted his clear key and nodded mutely. The figure carried Miyelda away, and Cho, in a flash of brilliance, decided to take a shortcut home and turn herself in to a rat and scuttle away._

_The Muggles watching the incident saw a five-feet-and-one-inch Asian girl suddenly shrink, and a sleek, black rat took her place. It promptly hopped in to the tunnel the trains usually took from location to location._

Finally, something clicked in Cho's mind. "Oh my gosh, that guy wasn't an Auror, was he?" Much to her dismay, Terrence Windsor shook his head slowly. Cho's heart sunk in her chest.

"That man, who you encountered," Mr. Windsor started off slowly, taking in deep breaths, "well, we're not quite sure what he is. All we know is only certain people can see him. And he's malicious. We think he's plotting something, but hasn't really done anything yet. We call him 'The Prankster', because all he really does are pranks… except lately, they've gotten a lot more serious. Dead serious, if you catch my drift."

Cho nodded, not sure what else to do with herself. She couldn't quite come to grips with the fact that she had actually come face-to-face with such a dangerous and well-known criminal.

"So," the Head took a deep breath, even though he was used to dealing with such grave information, "you are the only living person who has ever seen The Prankster. It is for this reason that we must put you on this case." Cho stared at Terrence numbly, feeling a foreboding chill overcoming her body. She was the only '_living_ person'? That certainly wasn't comforting.

"You'll have a team of two of our best experts to help you, even if such a mysterious case as this couldn't have much help provided." Somewhere in the far, far corner of her mind, Cho had a little party. She actually had a team? Only the top, top Aurors got 'teams'.

"And," Mr. Windsor continued, "_if_ you should complete this mission with your ability to accept more missions, we'll allow you your choice of missions in the future." Cho's eyes widened. That was a privilege given to only the best of the best of Aurors, such as Mad Eye Moody had been. Sputtering, Cho couldn't voice any opinions. Her mind weighed out the pros and cons- no one ever surviving, having a team, mysterious with little known, choice of missions… It was too much for her mind to handle, so she did the most reasonable thing- blocked all her thoughts out.

"Oh, um, thank you, sir," Cho said, finally able to think without any thoughts in her mind. Terrence Windsor looked curious at her reaction, but appeared to brush it off.

"I'll show you your new team."

After briskly walking down several hallways to another office, Cho was introduced to Alexander Labelle, a Ministry member and ex-Auror who specialized in criminal psychology- he was often used for interrogations. Two offices away, Cho met Terella Brioch, a witch who specialized in gathering as much information as possible for briefing Aurors on their upcoming case. Cho could only manage the polite courtesies during the introduction, but was really too shocked to say much more. Both her team members gave her sympathetic looks, as if they knew how fast all this was coming on.

After finally leaving the Auror Headquarters (the entry goblin seemed particularly gleeful at her shocked state) Cho headed back down the alley towards the fireplace. She was planning what she would do when she went home; the first on her list was to put the kettle on the stove, the second was to feed Gavyn. Filling her mind with these mundane thoughts helped her to gradually accept her fate.

With her mind swirling with thoughts, such as which tea should she boil, she almost didn't notice the cloaked figure slumped at the side of the alley. Her first thought, seeing as it was the most prominent, was 'The Prankster!' and Cho reached in to her robe and withdrew her wand. She would be prepared to fight, even if she probably wouldn't survive. Danger was part of the job description as an Auror.

When he didn't move, she chanced a step closer to take a better look. A white-gold sort of sheen to his hair brought back a certain memory, from Hogwarts.

"Draco?" She questioned, seeing as it was the first name to come to memory. An awkward pause elapsed when it didn't move.

"Er, well, I meant Malfoy," Cho explained, caught up in the awkward moment, "and um, that's obviously not who you are, seeing as Malfoy probably is somewhere else doing something better than leaning against an alley wall and, um, it was your hair color that sort of brought back the… memory…" Cho trailed off as the figure looked up, and was indeed Malfoy.

He gave her a questioning sort of look, as if he didn't remember who she was, and Cho was taken aback at how silvery-gray his eyes still looked.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" He asked with a rather dangerous note to his voice. Cho was certain that if she didn't give the right answer, he would probably attack her.

"Cho Chang, a former Hogwarts student from Ravenclaw, a year above you," she replied evenly, Auror training kicking in.

"You dated Potter," Draco replied, after thinking a bit, his voice dripping with contempt for the name he mentioned.

"Um, yes, that's me," Cho sheepishly responded, wondering why he would remember that about her of all things. Usually the Hogwarts alumni, who attended the school at the same time as she, mentioned that she had dated Cedric Diggory.

Malfoy contented himself with half-glaring, half-examining Cho. He stood up straight, still leaning the top of his back against the wall, and crossed his arms.

Cho looked up nervously, realizing he was nearly a foot taller than she, and he wasn't even standing up all the way. _'Being short really is a bummer,_' she thought to herself. Thinking it her duty to banish the weird silence, she blurted out the first question she thought of.

"Uh, what are you doing in this alley?"

Draco looked at her- she seemed really compelled to talk a lot, he mused. "None of your business," he replied, not saying it coldly but more like he was stating a fact. Cho rolled her eyes. He seemed a little worse for wear, Cho noticed, and saw that his fingers were white with cold. Personally, she didn't think the weather was that cold, but she felt sorry for him. Especially because she had found him slumped in an alleyway, she thought. In any case, whatever had happened to him was definitely not good.

"Er, want to come with me for some tea?" She asked, wondering if it was really such a good idea. He looked a little surprised at her offer, but seemed to actually consider it. It was certainly better than the alley, seeing he had no idea of what he was doing and where he was going.

"Why not?" He said, the slightest bit of his usual sarcasm easing its way in to his voice. Cho picked up on it, but said nothing. She pointed to the other end of the alleyway.

"We're going to have to get there by Floo, though, hope you don't mind." Draco shook his head, and picked up his broom, his bag still hanging off the end. They made their way to the end of the alley, and it seemed like the longest two-minute walk Cho had ever taken, due to the silence. The silence was made awkward, for her, because he really was a lot taller than her.

"How tall are you?" She asked randomly, and Draco seemed amused, as if he were thinking about the same thing- their height difference.

"Six feet," he smirked, and Cho childishly stuck her tongue out.

"I think it's much more practical to be five feet and one inch," she declared, and Draco shook his head.

Finally at the end of the dark alley, Cho reached in to her robe and gave him a pinch of her emerald Floo powder. She pinched out a bit herself, and threw it in to the flames, which promptly turned the same green color.

"451 Atticus Street, London," she called out, and stepped in to the flames. Draco heaved a big sigh. Going in to the Muggles world didn't seem like such a good idea, seeing as he would feel completely helpless, like a fish out of water, to use a cliché. Finally making up his mind, he sighed again, and threw his bit of powder in to the flames.

"451 Atticus Street… London," he paused before finally saying the name of the Muggle city. What was he getting himself in to?

**Kitch says:** Wahhh, school's starting. I'm hoping to update once every week… 'hoping' being the key word. But, um, here's another chapter.

My Humble Thanks to- Serena Goodkey, artificial-sprite, m.d.h.t., and Mimi.


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